5 Easy Ways To Exercise Your Dog If You Live In An Apartment

Exercising your dog in a time crunch isn't always easy. Here are 5 ways to exercise your dog when you are short on time or space!

As a young, studious, or career oriented dog parent, exercising your pup isn’t always as easy as you would like it to be. Sometimes our dogs just have too much energy for our small spaces, and we don’t have time for a 45 minute walk. Living in an apartment with a dog is not a simple task and exercising him properly will make quite a difference in your life.

Fortunately, there are ways to quickly and effectively exercise your dog, resulting in a tired, happy pooch. Most won’t even cost you a cent!

If you live in an apartment, this is the article for you!

1. Off Leash Exercise

If your dog’s recall skills are up to speed, an off-leash exercise can be the quickest and easiest way to tire him out. Living in the city can make this difficult, but if you have access to a vehicle or transit, or are close to a park or forest, letting your dog run freely for 20-30 minutes will surely slow him down.

Take a walk in the woods or the park, and get some needed exercise yourself. It won’t be long before you are both ready for a nap!

Swimming is a full body workout!

2. Swimming

Swimming for dogs is a full body workout that can’t be beat! The combination of water resistance, muscle movements, and pure physical exertion can exhaust even the highest energy dogs. Swimming against a current makes this workout even more effective. If you have access to a slow moving river or stream, that is the best place to exercise your dog.

For dogs who like to play fetch, swimming and retrieving toys or sticks will speed up the exercise process. Exercise your dog for 10-15 minutes, take a 5 minute break, and repeat until your dog throws in the towel. Most dogs only make it through two repetitions.

Fetch is quick and easy to train.

3. Fetch

Fetch is a great game that is easy to teach and is guaranteed to have your dog panting within minutes.

For dogs who prefer land over water, regular fetch is the perfect alternative to swimming activities. Off-leash dog parks are the best place to play a game of fetch, but any large open space will suffice.

Bring your dog’s favorite toy or stick, and spend 20-30 minutes tossing and retrieving. Depending on your dog’s energy level, he may last less or more time.

Dog daycares and walking services are great for exercise and socialization.

4. Dog Daycare and Walking Services

If you don’t have time or energy to exercise your dog yourself, there are many excellent services available. For example, dog walking businesses are growing increasingly popular, and most cities offer a few different options. If you aren’t comfortable with strangers entering your home, dog daycare is a perfect alternative!

If you are interested in enrolling your pup into dog daycare, but are concerned about transportation, there are companies who provide pickup and drop off services.

Group walks and dog daycares are perfect for developing and maintaining socialization skills. Even one walk per week will make a huge difference for your dog!

Not everyone has space like Barack Obama! There are doggy treadmills built especially for apartments.

5. Treadmill

Working your dog out on a treadmill may seem like a strange concept, but it is actually an effective, safe, and simple method to exercise your dog to his fullest potential. There are dog-specific treadmills on the market, but human ones are perfectly adequate.

Allow your dog to “test the waters,” and grow accustomed to the treadmill at his own pace. Eventually, jumping on the machine won’t seem so scary. Make sure your dog is comfortable on the treadmill before powering it on.

Start at the lowest setting, and slowly work your way up to a light jog. The average medium sized dog will run for 20 minutes at a time with a 5-10 minute break in between exercises.

If you are concerned about space, there are many treadmills available that fold up against the wall!